This past Monday, adidas launched a site- and app-wide sale to celebrate Members Week, an online festival for those most fervent about the brand. The week has seen exclusive concepts, hyped drops, discounts, creator content, games, and more. One of the more innovative, and significant releases has been a redesigned, re-engineered version of tennis great Stan Smith’s iconic sneaker, the adidas Stan Smith Made to Be Remade (MTBR). 

Stan Smith, an American tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s, has been immortalized in his line of tennis shoes, with a range of variants being produced over the decades. Barbara Smit, a journalist and writer, reports that nearly forty million pairs have been sold since their inception. Now, the MTBR Stan Smith pays homage to both the history and popularity of adidas, while pushing forward to rethink the future of not only the iconic shoe but all of footwear. 

The MTBR Stan Smith speaks for itself. Just like the past MTBR sneakers, including 2019’s FUTURECRAFT.LOOP and this year’s UltraBOOST, this Stan Smith is made with just one material type, and features no glue or color dye. As a result, it is able to be returned, ground down to bits, and recycled into new shoes or other adidas product. 

Martin Love, adidas Originals’ Global Category Director, provided a bit more insight into the design of the sneaker on LinkedIn. “Simple in it’s execution but complex in it’s creation. No glues meant all iconic features and reinforcements had to be spot welded and heat pressed for attachment. An engineered knit pattern to add structure and stability where needed. A brand new stitched on cupsole for connectivity between upper and bottom.”

Love adds, “The entire shoe is made from a single material to enable a circular approach where the shoes are returned after wear and turned into new shoes later.”

More specific details are unclear, as compared to the FUTURECRAFT and UltraBOOST versions, but it’s understandable as this is a limited production run that’s only available to adidas app members. For instance, the shoe’s main material is unclear, but it can be inferred that it likely employs a reusable TPU, like its predecessors. Similarly, the MTBR Stan Smith features a QR code on its tongue to help facilitate the return process via a digital platform on your phone. 

What makes this iteration of adidas’ Made To Be Remade series so significant, is that it’s the first of the brand’s line of iconic sneakers to get the treatment. It shows us that these futuristic and environmentally-necessary concepts are not limited to modern-day performance sneakers; even our beloved classics have a place in sustainable footwear. 

Those who are interested in the adidas Stan Smith Made To Be Remade have until August 29 to complete an interactive scavenger hunt inside the adidas app, which will then grant users a raffle ticket once completed. As of right now, it does not seem that adidas has any plans to make them more readily available, so act quickly! Furthermore, the adidas UltraBOOST MTBR is still available on adidas.com.

In other footwear news, On released the Cloudaway, a hybrid sneaker-boot made with recycled materials.